Submergible barges with anchor spuds



Nov. '22, 1960 J. T. HAYWARD 2,960,832

SUBMERGIBLE BARGES WITH ANCHOR SPUDS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 26,1955 a 9 17 l /7 -6 I] I,

INVENTOR.

J. T. HAYWARD SUBMERGIBLE BARGES WITH ANCHOR SPUDS Nov. 22, 1950 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 26, 1955 IN V EN TOR.

7.' Hayward United States Patent .SUBMERGIBLE BARGES WITH ANCHOR SPUDSFIohn Thomsen Hayward, Hayward-Wolff Research Corporation, 122 BaysideDrive, 'Clearwater, Fla.

Filed Aug. 26,1955,.Ser.'No.' 530,816

13 Claims. (Cl. 61-465) This invention relates to improvementsinsubmergible hulls,;particularly submergible .drilling barges employed.for drilling in open ocean areassuch as .alongsthe .Continental Shelflining the Gulf of Mexico.

.Submergible barges are now being employed fordr'illing in open oceanwater overlying the Continental Shelf and in similar open water areas.Such barges ordinarily. com- .prisea hull, a wave-transparentsuperstructure generally "consisting of a number of spaced'columns, anda working. platform supported on the columns at a height abovethe'bargehullisuch that the workingplatform will fbe a'abovethecrests ofany waves which 1 maysordinarily .be anticipated in the area ofoperation whentheihullis rest- .ing :.on the underlying .subnatant landbottom. Such barge hulls ordinarily have :a;flat .bottomito lprovideanextended spread footing in COHtQOLWlth'Ihe surfaceofthe submerged landin orderto provideafirmfoundationifor the working platform and theloadimposed. thereon.

' One 'of the problems encountered in .connection' with :suchsubmergible'barges is the .tendency of such barges to movelaterally overthe. land surface under the forces of wind and wave acting on thesuperstructure, or of unfderwater currents exerted against the submergedhull. Various means have been employed to anchor the barge to "the landto prevent this lateral movement which can prove very hazardous todrilling operations conducted from such a barge-supported platform.

One such anchor means which has been used comprises a plurality of spudswhich'are passed throughopenings in the barge and into'the underlyingland. This arrangement while generally efiective to prevent. lateralmovement of the hull, is nevertheless subject to considerable diflicultyarisingfrom the clearance-which isordinarily present between thecylindrical spud surface and the wall of the hull opening in order toprovide free "movement of the spud through the'opening. By reason ofthis clearance, even though small, a small amount of lateral movement ofthe hull. relative. to the spuds can occur. .As a result, slightshifting of the hull will cause the spud to bind against thehull at'thecorners corresponding to the upperv and lower ends of the hullopenings.Thetremendous forces involved may often hint -or bend the spuds at thepointsof contact with the hull and will make very difficult the laterwithdrawal of the spuds in order to release the 'hullifor re-floatingand movement to other locations.

The present invention contemplates improvements'in tthe spud anchoringstructure to obviatethe difliculty, mentioned above, arisingwithconventionalspud anchoring constructions.

In accordance with the present invention, the portions of the spudspassing'throughihe openings and .the snr- -rounding walls of theopenings are shaped to define ibetween them co-operating downwardlytapering frusto- -conical surfaces which will serveto seat the spuds.inthe hull openings in-such-a manneras to maintaincontinuous engagementbetween the spuds and 'the'hull. This Will prevent relative movementbetweenthese members and thereby obviate the difiiculty mentionedabove,-while at the same time permitting easy withdrawal.

The .taperedsurfaces contemplated by the "present invention-may beobtained by providing hull openings having.downwardlytaperingfrusto-conical shape and by forming the portion of thespudpositionedwithinsuch an opening with a complementary shape. Other suitablearrangements may be employed to provide thedesired tapered: seatingsurfaces, as will appear hereinafter.

f-Another conditionencountered in marine drilling-with .submergiblehulls'of the .kind described is a small oscillatory or :rocking movementof the hull which frequently occurs when the hull is resting on'thesubmerged land. It is thought thisrocking movement isdue tothe.slight'elasticity whichappears-to be characteristic of the soft landbottoms .underlying off-shore waters in many localities. Asthe-submergedhull is of substantial length, very often .a-wave will bepassing above one end of the hull while simultaneously a trough maybe'above the opposite end of the hull. The greater head of water'represented'by the wave will, byreason of the slight elasticity ofthesupporting land, tend to press the underlying portion of :thebargedownwardly slightlywhile the lesser head of water over the opposite endof the hull will "allow the latter to.riseslightly, this movement beingalternated and repeated asasuccession of wavespass over the submergedhull.

.Where-spuds'are' employed to anchor the 'hull to-the land bottom, thisoscillatory or rocking movement tends to produce :aloosening-of the'spuds in the underlying groundand thus reduce the anchoringeffectiveness of the spuds. The -fpresent invention contemplatesadditional modifications which vwill obviate this condition while.simn'ltaneous ly.mai-ntaining secure seating engagement of -the spudsin the hull.

In accordancewith these additional embodiments, one or more resilientspacer or filler rings or sleeves, constructed of rubber forotherresilient composition material, are concentrically interposed'between the spud and the wall of the opening through which the: spudpasses. The innerandouter-peripheries of thesespacer or filler elementsare-shaped to complement the-adjacent surfaces 30f therspud'and thehull-opening-to provide the tapered .seat surfaces tforthe spud'andhullopening which will .provide.the continuously: maintained contactbetween the :spud and"the-wall ofthe opening adapted to preventlateral'movement between the hull and the spuds. At the same time, bytheir resilient construction, the filler devices will absorb-therockingmovement, produced as above described, andthereby prevent loosening ofthe spud in .the underlying ground.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of this invention to provide incombination with a submerged hull, means for effectively anchoring thehull to the land surface on which it rests.

A further, object is to provide a hull constructionhaving spud receivingopenings therein and spuds passing through said openings into .theunderlying ground, the spuds and openings having co-operating engagingsurfaces adapted to prevent lateral movement between thethull and thespuds.

An additional object is to provide anchoring means for submerged hullswhich include openings through the hull and spuds extending through theopenings, there'be- Zing resilient fillers between the adjacent surfacesof the spuds and the openings adapted to absorb oscillatory amovement ofthe hull relative to the spuds.

Another object is to provide an anchoring arrangementemploying one ormore resilient filler rings disposed vin .ahull openingbetween theopposedwallsurfaces of the hullopening and thespud passing therethroughat leastonetof theopposed surfaces being downwardly 3 tapered and thetiller rings having peripheral faces engaging both said surfaces andcomplementary in shape thereto. v v a A more specific object is toprovide an anchoring means including a plurality of spaced-apartdownwardly tapering frusto-conical openings through a submerged hull anda spud passing through each opening, each spud having a downwardlytapering frusto-conical portion complementary to the shape of the hullopening whereby to fit snugly therein. 1

Other and more specific objects and advantages of this invention willbecome more fully apparent from the with the accompanying drawing whichillustrates several useful embodiments in accordance with thisinvention.

In the drawing: 7 I Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a generallyconventional form of submergible drilling barge, showing a number ofanchoring spuds passing through the hull portion thereof into theunderlying submerged land;

Fig. 2 is a plan view looking downwardly along line following detaileddescription when read in conjunction Fig. 3 is an elevational view ofone embodiment of a I I spud form and related seating structure in ahull opening;

Fig. 4 is an elevational view, generally similar to 'Fig. 3,illustrating another embodiment in accordance with the presentinvention;

1 Fig. 5 is a view looking downwardly along line 5-5 1 and the upper endof the structure shown in Fig. 4; and

Figs. 6 and 7 are views similar to Figs. 3 and 4 of still otherembodiments in accordance with the present invention.

Referring to the drawing, there is shown 'in Figs. 1 i

and 2a generally conventional form of submergible drilling barge,designated generally by the numeral 1,

which-includes a generally rectangular hull, designated generally by.the numeral 2, having a substantially flat bottom 3, deck 4, and end andside plates 6 and -7, :7

respectively. The hull may also be provided with a slot 8 in one end,commonly termed a drilling slot, through which the drilling tools areprojected in the underlying ground. A plurality of tubular columns 99are secured tothe hull to extend vertically above the hull deck. The

columns support on their upper ends a working platform 10 on which ismounted a conventional drilling derrick 10a positioned over the drillingslot 8. The height of columns 9 will be made such that when the hull isresting on the subnatant land L beneath the surface of a water body W,the working pl tform 10 will be elevated at a sufi'icient height abovethe normal water level to clear the crests of any waves which mightoccur in the area'in which the barge structure is being used. The

number of columns 9 and their spacing will ordinarily be such as toprovide a maximurn degree of wave transparency through thesuperstructure supporting the work- 'ing platform. The molded depth ofthe hull. that is, the

height from bottom 3 to deck 4, will ordinarily be from r about 10 to 15feet.

It will be understood that hull 2 will be suitably come partmentecl androvided with conventionalballast transferring and handling gear forsinking and re-floating the barge structure, such equipment andarrangements being well understood'by those skilled in the art and formno part of the present invention. *It will also be understood that'bythe use of conventional operating procedures and .means, the hull may besubmerged to rest on the 12- -12 are inserted through openings '11 intoland I; to

the embodiments of Figs. 3 and 4.

penetrating qualities.

4 effectively anchor the hull against lateral movement relative to theland.

Openings 11 and the portions of spuds 12 enclosed within the openings 11are designed, as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 7. to prevent or reducelateral movement between the hull and the spuds once the latter havebeen inserted through the openings into the underlying land. Asillustrated in Fig. 3, opening 11 is defined by a wall 13 which isshaped to provide a downwardly tapering frusto-conical opening throughthe hull. Spud 12 is ordinarily of tubular construction having its upperend portion 14 ofdownwardly tapering frusto-conical shape complementaryto the shape of opening 13, so that as the spud is inserted throughopening 13 and into the underlying land, opening 13 will form a seat forportion 14 of the spud which will provide maintained engagement betweenthe spud and the hull at all times to thereby prevent any lateralmovement of the hull relative to the spud. The lower or anchor portion15 of the spud which projects into the underlying land may be madecylindrical, but is preferably made with a slight downward and inwardtaper throughout its length, the downward taper of portions 14 and 15making insertion of the spud into the underlying ground relatively easy,and also enabling the spud to be withdrawn from the land and from theseat formed'by opening 11 with minimum effort. The lower end of the spudis closed and may be provided with a pointed tip 16 to enhance itsground The spud may be provided with an elongate stem 17 connected toits upper end and projecting upwardly through the working platform 10.

By the use of this stem, the spud may be pushed downwardly throughopening 11 into the underlying land and retracted therefrom when desiredby operations conducted from the working platform.

The length of portion 15 is preferably made from about one to about twotimes the molded depth of the hull. Thus, in a case of a hull having amolded depth of 10 feet, for example, portion 15 will have a length .offrom 10 to 20 feet, this range in length relative to themolded depth ofthe hull being found generally sufficient to effectively anchor the hullto the underlying land.

With the described arrangement, it will be seen that as the. spud isforced into the land and tapered portion ,14 is fed through taperedopening 11, the spud will become tightly seated in the hull and lateralmovement of the hull relative to the spud will be effectively prevented.At the same time owing to the taper of the spud it will be immediatelyfreed from the hull upon the application of an upward force.

Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate a modification of the structure shown in Fig.3. As it is sometimes difiicult to shape the hull plates so as toprovide a suitably tapered opening 11, the embodiment shown in Fig. 4will provide a practical alternative while still retaining the taperedseating connection between the hull and the spud. In this embodimentopening 11a. is generally vertically straight or .cylindrical. Securedto wall 13a, which defines opening 11a, is a plurality of radiallyinwardly projecting, angularly spaced ribs 18 having their inner edgessloped downwardly and inwardly to collectively define a downwardlytapering frusto-conical passage 19. The frustoconical passage thusdefined provides the seat for recelving tapered portion 14 of spud 12 inthe same manne as in the embodiment illustrated by Fig. 3. a

It will be understood that other structural arrangements may beemployed, it being necessary only that they provide the downwardlytapered co-operating seating surfaces corresponding functionally tothose illustrated by Figs. 6 and 7 illustrate further embodiments whichretain the ta ered seating engagement between the hull and the spudswhile at the same time providing means for absorbing small rocking oroscillatory movements of accuses the hull, suchasthoseheretoforedescribed, in order to obviate the loosening effect which suchmovement might otherwise have upon spuds which are directly engagedwith-the hull.

In Fig. 6, hull 2 is provided. with a vertically straight opening 111:to receive a spud corresponding in external form to spud 12 of thepreviously described embodiments; that is, the spud being provided witha frustoconical downwardly tapering upper section 14 and an anchorsection 15 having the point 16. Since opening 11b is substantiallycylindrical'whileportion 14 of the spud is downwardly tapering, there'isprovided between the surfaces of wall 13b and spud portion 14 adownwardly diverging annular space 20. interposed in this annular spaceis a sleeve member 21 of massive resilient construction, made of rubber.or similar resilient material, having its outer periphery. 22cylindrical in shape to conform to the cylindrical shape of opening 11band having its inner periphery 23 downwardly tapering frustoconicalshape complementing in shape spud portion 14. The sleeve 21 thusprovides a flexible resilient spacer or filler member which provides thetapered seat in the opening for receiving the tapered spud to therebymaintain continuous engagement between the spud and the hull. The upperand lower ends of opening 11b may be provided with inwardly projectingannular flanges 24 and 25, respectively, to serve as stops or keepers toprevent sleeve 21 from being drawn or pushed out of opening 11b. Sleeve21 is made slightly shorter in length than the distance between flanges24 and 25 to provide a small amount of axial movement of the sleeve inopening 11b to allow effective seating of the spud in the hull openingand to allow the spud to be readily released when it is to be withdrawn.Sleeve 21 may be hollow, having the internal chamber 26 which, however,is filled with liquid in order to prevent collapse of the sleeve underpressures due to the hydrostatic head of the sea above the hull.Although the liquid in chamber 26 is incompressible and renders thesleeve structure as a whole incompressible, the resilience of the wallsof the sleeve will allow deformation to absorb the slight oscillatory orrocking movements of the hull relative to the spud while, at the sametime, maintaining the continuous engagement between the spud and thehull necessary to prevent substantial lateral movement of the hullrelative to the spuds.

Fig. 7 illustrates an arrangement employing the resilient spacerelements which provide an alternative arrangement to that illustrated inFig. 6. As shown in Fig. 7, the hull is provided with the downwardlytapering frustoconical opening 11c defined by correspondingly shapedwall 130. Spud portion 14a, which extends through opening 110, is madevertically straight instead of tapered, as in the previously describedembodiments, thus again providing an annular space c between theopposing surfaces of the spud portion 14:: and wall 13c. In this case,the space thus provided is downwardly converging. Interposed betweenspud portion 14a and wall 13c are two vertically spaced upper and lowerfiller rings 27 and 28, respectively. These rings are of massiveresilient construction made from rubber or similar resilientcomposition. The peripheries 29 and 30, respectively, of the upper andlower rings define coaxial vertically straight cylindrical surfacescomplementing the cylindrical surfaces of spud portion 14a. The outerperipheries 31 and 32, respectively, of the upper and lower rings aremade downwardly and inwardly tapering to define downwardly taperingfrusto-conical surfaces complementing the shape of opening lie. Thethickness of the filler rings 27 and 28 is made such as to providecontinuous engagement between opposing surfaces of spud portion 140 andwall 13c. Keeper flanges 33, 34 project from wall 13c inwardly ofopening 110 above and below upper ring 31 and similar keeper flanges 35and 36 enclose lower filler ring 28, the keeper flanges being spacedsomewhat from the adjacent ends of the related rings to permit limitedaxial'movernent of the rings in the openings.

With the arrangement shown in Fig. 7', it will be seen that a verticallystraight spud may be inserted through the bores defined by theinner-peripheral surfaces 29 and 30 of the filler rings. As it is moveddownwardly through opening the friction between the spud'and the fillerrings will urge them downwardly along the inner-faceofwvall 13c and willproduce a wedging action between the spud andthe wall. of. the opening,thus rings 27 and 28 become, in efiect, resilient wedges. Thisembodiment is particularly useful where the spud, as it moves downwardlythrough the underlying land, encounters relative hard formations, suchthat it might be impracticalto employ a form such as illustrated inFigs. 3 and 4-.which would require .sufiicient downward movement to seatthe tapered spud portions 14 fully in the tapered seats in the hull.With the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 7, downward movement of the spudto any extent will produce the wedging action between the spud and thehull, which will effectively prevent substantial lateral movement of thehull relative to the spud while, at the same time, providing a degree ofresilience in the connection which will absorb the previously describedrocking or oscillatory movement of the hull.

It will be understood that the spuds in each of the several embodimentsmay be equipped with stems, such as stem 17, for forcing the spuds intothe underlying land; Fig. 6 illustrates an alternative arrangementuseful particularly in cases where the underlying land is quite soft, asis frequently the case in various points along the Gulf Coast. In thismodification, the spud may be filled with a weighting material, such asconcrete 35, which will provide sufiicient weight to cause the spud tomove downwardly the requisite distance under its own weight. Chains 36may be connected to the upper end of the spud and extended to theworking platform to permit withdrawal of the spuds when it is desired tomove thebarge.

Another efiective way of causing the spuds to penetrate the landunderlying the hull is to ballast it by introducing sea water to theinterior thereof in any convenient manner, as through extension or stem17. Similarly, the removal of the spuds may be facilitated byde-ballasting. To do this, air may be introduced in any suitable andknown manner to the interior of the spud and the pressure thereofemployed to eject the ballast through a pipe 17a, shown in broken linesin Fig. 3, which extends through the interior of the spud to a pointnear its lower end and has its upper end fitted with a check valve 17band communicating with the Water body exteriorly of the spud.

The number of spuds employed for any barge and their spacing andlocations in the hull may be varied widely, depending upon thedimensions of the hull, the character of the land bottom, and otherconditions encountered in the areas of employment of the barge. In somecases, only a few spuds may be required, and in others a relativelylarge number. In many cases it may be preferable to group the spuds inthe center portion of the barge but, as noted, their particularlocations and spacing will depend upon the conditions encountered andthe circumstances of each individual case. The spuds, themselves, may beof varying dimensions, so far as diameter is concerned, diameters ofthree to six feet being a generally satisfactory size. Their length willdepend generally upon the molded depth of the hull, as previously noted.

It will be understood that various other alterations and modificationsmay be made in the details of the illustrative embodiments within thescope of the appended claims but without departing from the spirit ofthis invention.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. In combination with a submerged hollow hull resting on a subnatantland surface and having vertically spaced upper and lower walls, atleast one generally vertical'op'ening extending entirely through thehull including said walls, and an elongate spud member extending fromabove the surface of the water body in which the hull is submergedthrough said opening into anchoring engagement in the underlying land,the opposing portions 'of the spud member and the wall of said openingbeing relatively shaped to define cooperating downwardly taperingfrusto-conical seating surfaces operable when engaged to preventrelative lateral movement between thehull and the spud member and tofacilitate withdrawal of the spud member. 1 l

2. In combination with a submerged hollow hull resting on a subnatantland surface and having vertically spaced upper and lower walls, aplurality of generally vertical openings extending entirely through saidbull including said walls in laterally spaced-apart relation, andelongate spud members extending from above the surface of the water bodyin which the hull is submerged through said openings into anchoringengagement in the underlying land, the opposing portions of said spudmembers and the walls of said openings being relatively shaped to definecooperating downwardly tapering frustoconical seating surfaces operablewhen engaged to prevent relative lateral movement between the hull andthe spud members and to facilitate withdrawal of the spud members.

3. In combination with a submerged hollow hull resting on a subnatantland surface and having vertically spaced upper and lower walls, aplurality of generally vertical openings extending entirely through saidhull including said walls in laterally spaced-apart relation, andelongate spud members extending from above the surface of the water bodyin which the hull is submerged through said openings into anchoringengagement in the underlying land, said openings being downwardly andinwardly tapered to provide frusto-conical seats, said spud membershaving upper frusto-conical portions receivable in said seats and havinglower anchor portions projecting from said seats into the underlyingland surface.

4. A structure as defined by claim 3 wherein the lower portions of saidspud members have a length of from one to two times the molded depth ofsaid hull.

5. A structure as defined by claim 3 wherein said lower portions of saidspud members are of downwardly tapering frusto-conical shape.

6. In a structure as defined by claim 3, means connected to the spudmembers for inserting and extracting them into and out of said openings.

7. In combination with a submerged hull resting on a subnatant landsurface, a plurality of generally vertical openings extending entirelythrough said bull in laterally spaced apart relation, and elongate spudmembers extending through said openings into anchoring engagement in theunderlying land, the opposing portions of said spud members and thewalls of said openings being relatively shaped to provide afrusto-conical annular space therebetween, and resilient ring meanspositioned in said space in resilient wedging engagement between saidopposing portions of the spud members and the walls of said openings.

8. A structure as defined by claim 7 wherein said resilient ring meanscomprises a longitudinally tapered sleeve member constructed ofresilient non-metallic position material shaped to conform to the shapeof said annular space. i

9. A structure as defined by claim 7 wherein saidresilient ring meanscomprises a pair of longitudinally spaced tapered rings constructed of,flexible, non-metallic composition material. 1 10. In combination with asubmerged hull resting on a subnatant landsurface, a plurality ofgenerally vertical openings extending entirely through said hull inlaterally spaced-apart relation, and elongate spud members extendingthrough said openings, into anchoring engage ment in. the underlyingland, said openings being defined byvertically straight cylindricalwalls, the portions of said spud members enclosed within said openingshaving downwardly tapering frusto-conical shape, and means positionedwithinsaid openings forming seats comple mentary in shape to saidportions of the spud member. j 11. A structure as defined by claim 10wherein said means comprises a plurality of longitudinally extendingangularly spaced ribs secured to the wall of each of said openings toproject radially inwardly therefrom, the inner longitudinal edges ofsaid ribs sloping downwardly and inwardly with respect to the 'axis ofsaid openings to complement the taper of said spud portions.

12. Anchor means for a submerged hull resting on a subnatant landsurface, comprising in combination with a hull having a spud-receivingopening extending generally vertically therethrough, said spud and thewall of said opening having cooperating surfaces shaped to preventlateral movement between the spud and the hull, and resilient fillermeans interposed between said surfaces to absorb oscillatory movement ofthe hull relative to the spud. I

13. Anchor means for a submerged hull resting on a subnatant landsurface, comprising in combination with a hull having a spud-receivingopening extending generally vertically therethrough, a hollow elongatespud member closed at its lower end extending from above the surface ofthe water body in which the hull is submerged through said opening intothe underlying land, said spud member and the walls of said openinghaving cooperating engaging surfaces of downwardly taperingfrusto-conical shape to prevent lateral movement between the hull andthe spud member, the portion of the spud member ex: tending below thehull opening into the underlying land being downwardly and inwardlytapered to facilitate its withdrawal from said land, and means forballasting and de-ballasting the spud member operable respectively toforce it into said land and to facilitate its withdrawal therefrom.

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